Health drain avoidable

Non-emergencies clogging hospital waiting lists

PREVENTABLE health issues are clogging our hospitals, using up more than 65,000 bed days across the Gold Coast public health network in a single year – adding to the pressure doctors and nurses are already under.

According to local doctors, a single hospital bed day can cost taxpayers up to $2000.

New data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals that a total of 20,263 potentially preventable admissions to hospital occurred in the Gold Coast health network in the 2016-17 financial year.

The term “potentially preventable’’ does not mean the patient did not need to be admitted, but that the issue could have been prevented through earlier treatment by a GP, for example.

The region has the eighth highest rate of preventable hospitalisations in the country out of 31 health networks.

At least 6525 Gold Coast bed days were lost due to vaccine-preventable conditions.

On the Coast, 5095 bed days were lost due to gangrene, 1948 due to dental conditions and 5568 due to diabetes complications. Nationally, six per cent of all hospital admissions were potentially preventable.

Gold Coast Medical Association immediate past president and local GP Sonu Haikerwal said the issue had a huge impact on the health system.

“It is a terrible burden on the system when you work it out. The dollar amount alone is at least $2000 a day per bed for things that could have been treated by a visit to the GP,” Dr Haikerwal said. “We need to be taking responsibility for our own health and our neighbour’s health and think more like a community.”

Dr Haikerwal said many cases could be managed by primary carers. “I did a tour of the Gold Coast University Hospital emergency department and at least 20 of the patients there at the time could have seen a GP instead,” she said. “An ED visit alone can cost about $500 to the taxpayer.”

GCUH emergency department director Dr David Green, who oversees the treatment of at least 330 patients daily, said any reduction in preventable admissions would benefit.

“If we could avoid extra hospitalisations, of course we could minimise cost and the burden on staff. It is an extremely busy place and we are putting though a huge number of admissions daily,” Dr Green said.

BULLETIN VIEW, P68